Meklit & Quinn

Meklit & Quinn (Porto Franco Records)

On their self-titled debut album, singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero and
vocalist-instrumentalist Quinn DeVeaux partner on an accomplished collection of
originals and covers. The music melts through genre boundaries, suggesting
low-key ’70s soul on one track and after-hours jazz on another. Judicious use
of reverb endows many tracks with a hint of retro and a shadow of sonic depth. Talking
Heads’ “This Must Be the Place” is given an elaborate vocal arrangement (one
imagines it could be sung a capella) and Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love” is
transformed into chamber jazz. While Hadero’s voice sometimes recalls the
buttery feel of Joni Mitchell, much of the music suggests a collaboration
between Bill Withers and Roberta Flack, circa 1970, that would have resulted in
one great recording.